Tag Archives: Southern Literature

The Other Side of the Bay

Posted on March 8, 2023 by smellincoffee

The Other Side of the Bay© 2014 Sean Dietrich177 pages There’s a broken down  truck in the woods holding three men,  two drunk brothers and a passed-out football has-been.   By morning, the truck will be discovered in perfect working … Continue reading →

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Whistling Dixie

Posted on February 4, 2023 by smellincoffee

Sean of the South: Whistling Dixie© 2015 Sean Dietrich198 pages A few weeks back I read The South’s Okayest Writer, a collection of articles by Sean Dietrich. Whistling Dixie is very similar in content and in theme, as this also … Continue reading →

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The South’s Okayest Writer

Posted on January 30, 2023 by smellincoffee

The South’s Okayest Writer: The Adventures of a Boy Columnist© 2018 Sean Dietrich241 pages There is a Japanese art, kintsugi, of putting broken pieces of pottery back together again with gilded paint, with the result that the repaired object is … Continue reading →

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The Incredible Winston Browne

Posted on January 23, 2023 by smellincoffee

The Incredible Winston Browne© Sean Dietrich 2021 352 pages In a little place called Moab,  a man is dying. His name is Winston Browne, and he’s a man who lives with regrets, memories of a love gone awry, of an … Continue reading →

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A year’s end…

Posted on December 28, 2022 by smellincoffee

Welcome to the liminal space between  the years, as we all recover from Christmas and brace ourselves for a weekend full of fireworks.  Reading activity is definitely ebbing down for me,  and has been for much of December — I’ve … Continue reading →

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Sean of the South and the Old Man’s Boy

Posted on December 6, 2022 by smellincoffee

Sean Dietrich and his wife Jamie’s collective world was shaken when their doctor said the C word.  Cancer.  The emperor of all maladies,  the ticking timebomb in each of us.   Rather than crumbling into a  weeping ball of woe-is-me,  … Continue reading →

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November 2022 in Review

Posted on December 1, 2022 by smellincoffee

Well, this has been an interesting month for reading.  My best-intentioned plans to read more southern literature finally woke up after attending a lecture by Dr. Wayne Flynt on Harper Lee, leading to my reading his memoir about his friendship … Continue reading →

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Stories, southern and otherwise

Posted on November 23, 2022 by smellincoffee

Rick Bragg is one of those authors I gave a shot simply because people around me wouldn’t shut up about him. It’s easy to understand why, after only a page or two;  he has a gift for storytelling, one he … Continue reading →

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Southern stories: quotations from My Southern Journey

Posted on November 22, 2022 by smellincoffee

“My people tell their stories of vast red fields and bitter turnip greens and harsh white whiskey like they are rocking in some invisible chair, smooth and easy even in the terrible parts because the past has already done its … Continue reading →

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Go Set a Watchman

Posted on November 8, 2022 by smellincoffee

Go Set a Watchman© 2015 Harper Lee 288 pages When it was announced that Harper Lee had published a sequel to her legendary book, Go Set a Watchman,  I was skeptical, as were many.  Given how close its author was … Continue reading →

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